Watan-As Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues, ceasefire negotiations have inched closer to a potential breakthrough amid signs of American pressure on Israel and an intensified Qatari mediation effort, aiming to overcome the intransigence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is attempting to impose harsh conditions on the Palestinian negotiators.
The news outlet Axios revealed on Wednesday that a secret meeting took place on Tuesday at the White House in Washington, involving senior U.S., Israeli, and Qatari officials. The discussion focused on a key sticking point: the Israeli army’s withdrawal lines during a proposed 60-day ceasefire.
According to two informed sources cited by the report, the point of contention was Israel’s proposed redeployment map, which outlined a much narrower pullback compared to the previous ceasefire. This proposal was deemed unacceptable.
The sources said that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and a high-ranking Qatari official informed Ron Dermer—Netanyahu’s senior advisor—that Hamas would outright reject the map, and that it risked collapsing the entire negotiation process.
Witkoff reportedly told Dermer that the Israeli proposal resembled a plan by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, effectively allowing Israeli forces to remain entrenched across large parts of Gaza—a scenario rejected by the Trump administration, according to Axios.
As a result of that meeting, Israel reportedly submitted a revised map, proposing a more extensive withdrawal, which led to what a source described as “significant progress” in the talks.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani emphasized the need to pressure all sides to make the ceasefire mediation efforts succeed.
However, a source familiar with the talks told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that Israel’s talk of resolving the disputes is largely “media spin”. The source clarified that the only finalized elements of the deal pertain to timelines for the handover of Israeli hostages, the process of their release, and when Hamas would provide information about hostages who are still alive or deceased.
The main unresolved issue remains the map of Israeli military withdrawals. Israel is reportedly insisting on keeping forces stationed in the “Morag Corridor”, which would mean a complete occupation of Rafah, and maintaining military control points along Gaza’s eastern border.
Meanwhile, Israeli escalation in Gaza continues. Since early Wednesday, at least 39 Palestinians were killed, including children, in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
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